Three medal-winning Dominican boxers deserted the Dominican team that won the Pan American Boxing Championship. The Dominican team of seven boxers won four gold medals. Silver medalist Jairo David Gonel (60 kilos), gold medallist Luis Hodge (81 kilos), and silver medallist heavy weight Domingo Paulino deserted in San Juan where the Pan Am Championships took place. Bienvenido Solano, president of the Dominican Boxing Federation, lamented their decision. He said the boxers’ illegal status will not let them develop their careers in Puerto Rico. He says the boxers would have gained much more by staying on the national team than by becoming illegal residents of Puerto Rico, especially when the Pan Am Games arrive in the DR and the limelight is on the nation’s best athletes. “Those boys never learn,” said Solano. “They do not know that boxer Avila deserted in 1993 and never was able to make a career in Puerto Rico. And worse still, as a consequence of his error he cannot travel to US territory today.”
